Feeling Through Colors
Discover ways to help children of all ages identify and express feelings through a rainbow of colors and art.
Read MoreFeelings Forecast
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Sometimes the weather is sunny and calm, while other times a storm may be on the horizon. Similar to how we look to the weather forecast to make decisions about how we’ll dress or spend our day, we can look to our feelings forecast to make decisions about what we need or how we interact with others.
Explore feelings as weather and predict your Feelings Forecast.
Feelings Forecast:
- Invite children to brainstorm different types of weather.
- Younger children may focus on simple concepts: Sunny, rainy, stormy, snowy, etc.
- Older children may focus on layered concepts: Cloudy with a chance of storms, etc.
- Then invite children to reflect on what feelings, emotions or sensations different weather may represent. Examples may include:
- Sunny day with clear skies – happy and focused/energized
- Foggy – lonely
- Rainy but calm – relaxed
- Cloudy with a chance of showers – overwhelmed
- Lastly, invite children to reflect on the following prompts:
- Reflect on how you’re feeling – both physically and emotionally. What is your feelings forecast? Write/draw what this forecast looks like.
- Reflect on how these feelings may impact our day. What might you need or do to navigate this forecast?
- Reflect on how these feelings may impact how we might interact with others. How might you share this forecast with others?
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Tips
Discuss with children the unpredictability of emotions. Just like weather, sometimes we can predict what a day will look like while other times it rains on an otherwise sunny day and we don’t know why.
Create space to talk with children about the importance of welcoming all types of weather (or feelings). Allowing ourselves to work through emotions, whether we fully understand them or not, we are better able to manage how we respond to them and develop practices that support us in navigating however a feeling forecast may look.
Discuss with children the importance of making healthy decisions to cope with or manage emotions versus trying to change or ignore emotions. Encourage them to reflect on activities they enjoy doing and how they make them feel. For some, journaling and mindful breathing may be the most helpful to respond to stress or anxiety and for others it might be exercising or singing. Finding the right tools for ourselves helps us to self-regulate and support healthy communication with others.
Categories: Social-Emotional Health, At Home, At School, Digital Resource